EU Withdrawal Agreement

Debate between Michael Gove and Ben Bradshaw

Wednesday 9th December 2020 Commons Chamber

[Michael Gove]

Absolutely—my right hon. Friend has been a consistent champion for business and enterprise in all his years in this House, and he is absolutely right. This pragmatic approach works for businesses in his constituency and in Northern Ireland.

[Mr Ben Bradshaw (Exeter) (Lab)]

Will the right hon. Gentleman correct his claim on this morning’s “Today” programme that, in the event of no deal, we will continue to benefit from free healthcare if we visit the rest of Europe after 1 January and our students will continue to benefit from the Erasmus programmes?

[Michael Gove]

It is the case that students who are currently engaged on Erasmus programmes will continue to be part of them until the end of that academic course. It is also the case that UK citizens who have been living in EU countries are covered by the withdrawal agreement rights that we all voted on—I think the right hon. Gentleman voted against, but nevertheless we protected their rights.

[Mr Bradshaw]

Absolutely outrageous.

UK-EU Negotiations

Debate between Michael Gove and Ben Bradshaw

Tuesday 16th June 2020 Commons Chamber

[Michael Gove]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. One of the reasons why the Prime Minister wanted to have the high-level meeting yesterday—one of the reasons why the three presidents wanted it as well—was precisely in order to accelerate progress towards securing a deal. We are ready for life outside the single market and the customs union, come what may, but it is our devout intent to secure a deal. I hope my hon. Friend can tell businesses in Watford, whom he represents so effectively, that their voices are heard loud and clear in Downing Street and the Cabinet Office.

[Mr Ben Bradshaw (Exeter) (Lab)]

At the general election, the Tories promised

“no tariffs, fees, charges or quantitative restrictions across all sectors”.

Does that commitment still stand?

[Michael Gove]

That is the commitment in the political declaration, to which both the UK and the EU are working.

Preparations for Leaving the EU

Debate between Michael Gove and Ben Bradshaw

Tuesday 8th October 2019 Commons Chamber

[Michael Gove]

My right hon. Friend is absolutely right. The Secretary of State for Transport has ensured that across the United Kingdom, at service stations and other points on our motorway system where hauliers are likely to pause or pass, we are in a position to provide them not just with the information that they need to know whether they are compliant with EU rules, but with the opportunity—if they need to—to correct the paperwork that they have, or if they are not compliant, to turn back, because we want to do everything possible to ensure that non-compliant vehicles get nowhere near Kent for reasons of maintaining the flow at the border and safeguarding the interests of my right hon. Friend’s citizens and other Kent residents.

[Mr Ben Bradshaw (Exeter) (Lab)]

The business and local authority organisation representing Devon and Cornwall—the Heart of the South West local enterprise partnership—wrote to the right hon. Gentleman last week telling him that with the wholly inadequate mitigation measures that are already in place, a no-deal Brexit would be as bad for our region as foot and mouth, except that it will go on for a lot longer, will it not? Is the organisation wrong?

[Michael Gove]

Yes, I think it is, but it is also important that if we put to one side the rhetoric that organisations often use to try to secure attention and look in a granular way—[Interruption.]

Leaving the EU: Preparations

Debate between Michael Gove and Ben Bradshaw

Tuesday 3rd September 2019 Commons Chamber

[Michael Gove]

My hon. Friend makes a very good point. There are some specific proposals that help to deal with parcels of a lower value and can facilitate their flow across borders, but I suggest that his constituents contact gov.uk/brexit—the Government Digital Service website—or, indeed, HMRC. If he would care to write to me, I can ensure that all the facilitations and easements available are in place for his constituency’s firms and employees.

[Mr Ben Bradshaw (Exeter) (Lab)]

Why should anyone believe Government claims that meaningful talks are taking place in Brussels to avoid no deal when the rest of Europe flatly denies that and the Prime Minister’s own chief of staff has said that that claim is a deliberate sham to run down the clock to a no-deal Brexit?

[Michael Gove]

I have huge respect for the right hon. Gentleman, but if he were to look at the number of air miles clocked up by my right hon. Friend the Brexit Secretary and talk to those involved in the negotiations with the Brexit Secretary, the Prime Minister and the Prime Minister’s official negotiator, David Frost, he would see that there has been intensive negotiation with our EU partners. For example, the Prime Minister just last week spent five days in France talking to not only Emmanuel Macron but other European leaders to ensure that we can leave with a deal.

UK’s Withdrawal from the European Union

Debate between Michael Gove and Ben Bradshaw

Wednesday 13th March 2019 Commons Chamber

[Michael Gove]

Thank you very much, Mr Speaker; I believe as a former Lord Chancellor that that is what is known as a refresher, but thank you.

[Mr Ben Bradshaw (Exeter) (Lab)]

Will the Secretary of State give way?

[Michael Gove]

Not at this stage.

--- Later in debate ---

[Michael Gove]

I will give way first to the right hon. Member for Exeter (Mr Bradshaw) and then to my right hon. and learned Friend the Member for Beaconsfield (Mr Grieve).

[Mr Bradshaw]

Will the right hon. Gentleman now attempt to answer the question asked by the right hon. Member for Broxtowe (Anna Soubry) and explain the media reports? Given that the Prime Minister last night promised free votes—[Interruption.] Yes she did, at the Dispatch Box; the right hon. Gentleman should not shake his head. Can he therefore explain the reports that the right hon. Member for Broxtowe has pointed to that the amendment in the name of the right hon. Member for Ashford (Damian Green) will be a free vote on the Conservative Benches but the amendment in the name of the right hon. Member for Meriden (Dame Caroline Spelman) will be whipped against? That is an absolute disgrace and bad faith to this House.

[Michael Gove]

If only the Labour party would give its own Members a free vote, then we could find out what they really think.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Michael Gove and Ben Bradshaw

Thursday 12th July 2018 Commons Chamber

[Mr Ben Bradshaw (Exeter) (Lab)]

3. What steps the Government are taking to ensure that UK fish exports have free and frictionless market access to the rest of Europe in the event of the UK leaving the EU.

[The Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Michael Gove)]

We want to secure an agreement with the European Union that ensures tariff-free and frictionless market access for fisheries products. That is of course a separate negotiation from those on fishing opportunities and access to waters, which will be founded on the UK’s legal status as an independent coastal state and will be consistent with fisheries agreements internationally.

[Mr Bradshaw]

Commiserations on the tennis, Mr Speaker.

[Mr Bradshaw]

I welcome the Secretary of State’s belated recognition that we cannot have frictionless exports to the European Union for our fish and agriculture products if we are not in a single market, as the Chequers agreement recognises. Will he explain why his fellow hard-Brexiteers do not seem to grasp that simple truth? Do they just not care about our fish and agricultural exports?

[Michael Gove]

It would be wrong to say that the position put forward in the Chequers agreement is analogous to membership of the single market or the European economic area. The right hon. Gentleman will be aware that membership of the European economic area and the single market does not guarantee entirely frictionless access to the European Union for fisheries or other products.

Sustainable Fisheries

Debate between Michael Gove and Ben Bradshaw

Wednesday 4th July 2018 Commons Chamber

[Michael Gove]

It is great to see my right hon. Friend the Member for North Shropshire (Mr Paterson) back in his place. He has been a pioneer of many of the policies that we are announcing today, and I am in his debt. It is the case that we have talked about introducing pilots of some form of effort control—days at sea—providing that that is consistent, of course, with important environmental and sustainable factors. We will be working with the industry to ensure that we bring in those pilots as quickly as possible.

[Mr Ben Bradshaw (Exeter) (Lab)]

On the radio this morning, the Secretary of State repeatedly cited Norway and Iceland as models for our future fishing relationship with the rest of Europe. He knows that Norway is in the European economic area, and that Iceland is in the European Free Trade Association, which guarantees them free and unfettered access to the European Union for their exports. Is not his claim that he can claim back quota that other countries currently hold while guaranteeing free and unfettered access for our industry’s vital exports to the European Union another cruel betrayal being perpetrated on our fishing industry?

[Michael Gove]

The right hon. Gentleman served with distinction as a DEFRA Minister, and I take seriously his contributions on this matter. As I stress, there are two separate strands to our negotiations with the EU. There are negotiations that we will have as an independent coastal state. Iceland and Norway are very successful independent coastal states, which have control of their fisheries, and which also ensures that the fish that they catch are successfully exported. We will have a separate set of negotiations as part of the future economic partnership.

Transport Emissions: Urban Areas

Debate between Michael Gove and Ben Bradshaw

Tuesday 22nd May 2018 Commons Chamber

[Michael Gove]

My hon. Friend makes a very good point. The success of any scrappage scheme depends on effective targeting. What we cannot do—it would be irresponsible—would be to use public money to subsidise people who are already making a choice to get rid of a particular vehicle. The deadweight cost associated with that would not be money appropriately spent. He makes the very good point that if we can effectively target such vehicles and find the individuals whom we can incentivise to move towards a green and more sustainable method of transport, we should of course support such measures. I am entirely open-minded about any proposals that might come forward, whether from metro Mayors, local authorities or others.

[Mr Ben Bradshaw (Exeter) (Lab)]

Has the Secretary of State noted the very striking finding in our joint Committees report that the fumes and pollution inside a vehicle are 10 times worse than those outside a vehicle? As part of the public information campaign that he has just announced, will he ensure that it is directed at parents who drive their children to school, thinking they are protecting them when they are actually doing them much more harm than if they walked or cycled, as well as exposing other people’s children and families to more pollution and congestion?

[Michael Gove]

Absolutely spot on. I am very grateful to the right hon. Gentleman for making that point. All of us need to know more about the sources of air pollution, and he is absolutely right. I did not appreciate that until the Select Committees brought it to my attention, and I am grateful to him for bringing it to the attention of a wider audience today.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Michael Gove and Ben Bradshaw

Thursday 7th December 2017 Commons Chamber

[Michael Gove]

I thank the hon. Gentleman, who has in his role been a passionate and effective advocate for Scottish industry. Yes, we want to make sure that geographical indicators and schemes that ensure high-quality foods from all parts of the United Kingdom are recognised within Europe and across the world. We want to ensure that appropriate schemes exist in the future so that we can provide recognition to our trading partners, as well as ensuring that the markets we care so much about are protected.

[Mr Ben Bradshaw (Exeter) (Lab)]

3. What steps his Department is taking to tackle pulse fishing in EU waters.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Michael Gove and Ben Bradshaw

Thursday 20th July 2017 Commons Chamber

[Mr Ben Bradshaw (Exeter) (Lab)]

T2. Is“thick as mince, lazy as a toad and vain as Narcissus”an appropriate description to use for a fellow Cabinet member? If hard Brexiteers in our Government are falling out in that way, how on earth can the Secretary of State expect our European Union partners to take our negotiations seriously?

[Michael Gove]

The right hon. Gentleman, I am sure, is aware that we are working well together in government—[Laughter]—and I do not recognise the description he just gave as fitting any Member of this House.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Michael Gove and Ben Bradshaw

Monday 16th April 2012 Commons Chamber

[Michael Gove]

My hon. Friend makes a compelling case, and I will recommend that the permanent secretary investigates it closely.

[Mr Ben Bradshaw (Exeter) (Lab)]

6. What due diligence his Department conducted on the governance arrangements at West Exe technology college in Exeter when considering its application for academy status.

[The Secretary of State for Education (Michael Gove)]

West Exe technology college received an academy order because the school satisfied the Department’s published criteria for conversion to academy status, but the Department was alerted to matters that bear on the school’s conversion. Concerns were raised specifically about staffing practices. The local authority is therefore auditing the school’s finances and the school’s conversion is on hold, pending the outcome of that work.

[Mr Bradshaw]

The Secretary of State may recall my speaking personally to him in the corridor behind your Chair, Mr Speaker, a year ago. I said that the first school in my constituency to apply for academy status, and the one most impatient to do so, was the one whose leadership I had most concerns about. Yet the Department, in its apparent due diligence, saw no reason not to give the school initial approval. Does that not show that the due diligence process used by his Department is wholly inadequate?

[Michael Gove]

I am grateful to the right hon. Gentleman for the care he shows in ensuring that every school in his constituency finds itself in the right position and has the right status. When an academy order is granted, it is a rules-based process; if a school satisfies certain criteria, it is appropriate that an academy order be issued in most circumstances. Subsequently, however, a number of concerns—beyond those that the right hon. Gentleman rightly raised—are being investigated. At the conclusion of that investigation, I will make sure that the right hon. Gentleman, as the constituency Member, and others are informed about the decision that is eventually taken.

School Sports Funding

Debate between Michael Gove and Ben Bradshaw

Tuesday 30th November 2010 Commons Chamber

[Michael Gove]

I am keen to make progress, but I shall be happy to give way to a number of hon. Gentlemen on both sides of the House in due course. [Interruption.] I am even happier to give way to hon. Ladies and right hon. Ladies on both sides of the House.

We know that £2.4 billion was spent by the last Government on delivering their sport strategy. Our contention is that although much good work was done, that money was not spent as effectively and efficiently as it should have been. In the letter I wrote to Baroness Campbell, which the right hon. Member for Leigh referred to as “curt”, even though it was four and a half pages of prose, I outlined my gratitude to her for the work she had done. Earlier, the hon. Member for Dudley North (Ian Austin) suggested from a sedentary position that I should have met Baroness Campbell. I had the opportunity of meeting her—indeed, of having dinner with her—before I became Secretary of State. I also had the opportunity of talking to John Beckwith, one of the supporters of the Youth Sport Trust, and with the Under-Secretary of State for Education, my hon. Friend the Member for East Worthing and Shoreham (Tim Loughton), I had the opportunity of assessing the work of the trust. My hon. Friend had the opportunity of meeting Baroness Campbell on three occasions before we made our decision in the comprehensive spending review.

One of the questions that was in my mind was whether we were ensuring that enough was spent on the front line under the current structure. The right hon. Gentleman said that he would support the investment required to retain the infrastructure, but he did not specify what it was. Let me share with the House some of the details of the infrastructure. At present, we have 450 partnership development managers and 225 competition managers. On top of that, there are senior competition managers and on top of that, 11 regional development managers, and on top of that three national development managers. They work alongside the county sport partnerships and the national governing bodies of each sport. How many of those posts are essential to the delivery of an effective school sport offer?

[Mr Ben Bradshaw (Exeter) (Lab)]

Does the Secretary of State recognise that the people he has just mentioned save schools time and money? What would he say to Kealey Sherwood, the director of sport at St Luke’s school in my constituency, about the £300,000 cut to my local partnership? She said:

“We are devastated. There is a real danger that at an exciting time for sport in Britain, all will be destroyed.”

What does the Secretary of State say to her?

[Michael Gove]

I am grateful to Kealey Sherwood for the commitment she shows. I am also grateful to the right hon. Gentleman for the work he did when he was Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, but I have a question, which most people would consider fair-minded. If Opposition Members would like to maintain the infrastructure entirely intact, how much are they prepared to take from other budgets to do that, or if they agree with the right hon. Member for Leigh that a cut is possible to maintain the infrastructure, what level of cut would it be? Which of the posts is dispensable?

Schools White Paper

Debate between Michael Gove and Ben Bradshaw

Wednesday 24th November 2010 Commons Chamber

[Michael Gove]

It was a pleasure to meet teachers in my hon. Friend’s constituency during the local election campaign two years ago. I know that they will welcome our proposals to ensure that investigations are speeded up when teachers face false allegations, and to ensure that they enjoy anonymity if such allegations are made. We will also tell head teachers that there should be no automatic suspension of teachers when they exercise legitimate authority in the classroom.

[Mr Ben Bradshaw (Exeter) (Lab)]

The Secretary of State’s decision to axe funding for school sport partnerships will be extremely damaging to the fitness, health and attainment of our young people, as well as to our country’s future sporting prowess. May I implore the right hon. Gentleman, who is a reasonable man, to revisit that decision before he destroys the renaissance that school sport has experienced in the past few years?

[Michael Gove]

I am grateful to the right hon. Gentleman. I know that he is a reasonable man as well. I am sure that we can work together in future to ensure that the additional resources that we are investing in education, and the additional emphasis on competitive team sport, provide every school with the support that it needs to give all children the physical education that they deserve.